* Drug still being tested to treat asthma
(Recasts, adds analyst, company comment, details on Glenmark
pipeline, shares, changes dateline from NEW YORK)

By Swati Pandey and Pratish Narayanan

MUMBAI, Aug 19 (Reuters) - India's Glenmark Pharmaceuticals
(GLEN.BO: Quotazione) and U.S. partner Forest Laboratories FRX.N said a
drug they were developing to treat smoker's cough failed in a
mid-stage trial, knocking Glenmark shares down more than 17
percent on Wednesday.

The Indian firm had been banking heavily on the drug's
success, and its breakdown means it will miss out on a
potentially lucrative multi-billion dollar market, analysts
said.

The drug was to treat chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD), a persistent blockage of airways caused by emphysema or
chronic bronchitis that affects an estimated 14 million
Americans and is the fourth most common cause of death.

"The company had been depending a lot on this molecule. The
COPD market is worth about $5 billion, and now that market has
been totally wiped out for Glenmark," said Bhawana Verma, an
analyst at K.R. Choksey Shares & Securities.
Continua...